Getting their kicks

By Mark Shanahan and Paysha Rhone  |  August 30, 2008

New England Revolution stars Taylor Twellman, Matt Reis, and Michael Parkhurst gave more than 100 kids soccer tips at Patriot Place yesterday, running a free clinic near Gillette Stadium. The star forward, goalie, and defender stuck to shooting, passing and dribbling basics, said spokeswoman Lizz Summers. The little kickers, ages 8 to 14, also got autographs and the chance to take shots in a bouncy house. A few lucky folks won tickets to watch the match against soccer superstar David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy tonight.

Trapeze master Tito Gaona and his wife, Renata, led 15 campers through their own little circus yesterday in the auditorium of the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton. The kids, participants in Gaona's two-week Flying Fantasy Trapeze and Circus Camp, walked the high-wire, balanced on balls, clowned, and juggled in brightly colored costumes, said Larry Keller, with the center. (And yes, they were trussed in when they tip-toed the high-wire.) Then, the whole band headed for the trapeze, set up outside, to show off their new stunts to a proud crowd of camera-clutching parents. "It was spectacular," Keller said. "Just seeing somebody swinging from a high-wire in our auditorium was phenomenal." Gaona has previously taught trapeze classes at the center, but this was the first camp. The Florida-based circus star, who grew up performing with his family, the Flying Gaonas, will hang around, teaching kids and adults through October.

Six of Boston's waterfront hotels will compete in the first annual Running of the Beds on Tuesday, in honor of International Housekeeping Week. The Westin Boston Waterfront will host the unusual event, which will pit six-person housekeeping teams from the Seaport Hotel, Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, Boston Harbor Hotel, InterContinental Boston, Boston Marriott Long Wharf, and Westin Boston Waterfront against each other. The teams - with some members riding and some pushing - will race wheeled beds, outfitted to reflect the feel of each property, on West Ring Road, behind the Westin, said spokeswoman Danielle Cirigliano. An awards ceremony and luncheon will be held afterward at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, where prizes will be given for first, second, and third place, as well as best decorated, best team spirit, and most valiant effort.

Larry Thomas, aka the Soup Nazi in "Seinfeld," will ladle clam chowder outside Legal Sea Foods in Cambridge Wednesday, so place your order succinctly and step in the direction he points. The Brooklyn actor will exchange free soup for canned goods for the Greater Boston Food Bank, part of the Do Something! with Seinfeld campaign, a nationwide charity tour of college campuses aiding local food banks. "I have to warn you, though, that I'm incredibly clumsy," Thomas said, laughing. "When I did the 'Seinfeld' episode, I spilled food all over myself. And I'll be sampling while I'm serving." Thomas admitted he tried to leave the Soup Nazi behind after being nominated for an Emmy for the tough-talking, dictatorial counter man. "But he was always right behind me," he said. Fans continued to recognize him on the street. So he gave in, making occasional appearances to serve soup. "Most people are afraid to play," he said. "But some people will order badly and not step to the right, and I'll be forced to yell at them." Since playing the Soup Nazi, Thomas has landed roles as Osama bin Laden in "Postal" and Saddam Hussein on "Arrested Development." "And I'm Jewish," he said. "It type-cast me a little bit, but it's been a ball."

The YMCA's chief development officer Harold Sparrow (left) and John Ferrell, president of the YMCA of Greater Boston, joined board chairman Stacey Lucchino and State Street CEO Ronald Logue (right) at the Country Club in Brookline for the 2008 Deutsche Bank Partners for Charity event this week. The big golf tourney raised money for the YMCA's 106-year-old Hyde Park branch, currently undergoing a "green" renovation that includes better handicapped access, a new teen center, after-school space, and a health and wellness center.